The Supreme Court is seeking comments on the report of its Special Committee on Electronic Filing. Comments on the committee’s report will be accepted until Nov. 16. The report is available on the Judiciary Web site at njcourts.com.

Chaired by John J. Degnan, vice chairman and chief operating officer of the Chubb Corporation and former New Jersey attorney general, the 34-member committee included attorneys from large law firms, small law firms, legal aid organizations, the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Public Defender, chief information officers, a representative from the federal courts, judges, Judiciary managers, and the acting administrative director of the courts.

When he appointed the special committee in 2008, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner asked the members to examine the Judiciary’s case filing and case processing systems and to identify the best way to achieve comprehensive e-filing systems for the Judiciary’s many case types in the shortest possible time. The committee addressed questions such as the type of e-filing system that should be used; whether the Judiciary’s current e-filing systems could be expanded or improved upon; how to integrate electronic filings by attorneys with existing case management systems; where the greatest need for e-filing exists and where the greatest opportunities lie for rapid deployment; how to identify and obtain resources both within the Judiciary and from the private sector; how New Jersey can benefit from e-filing practices in other court systems; and what time frames should be considered reasonable to expand e-filing in the New Jersey Judiciary.

As a result of in-depth study of those issues, the special committee made 38 recommendations to the Supreme Court. The committee explored the implications surrounding a comprehensive technology shift that would transform case management, tracking, scheduling and decision-making.

Some of its key recommendations include:

Developing a comprehensive e-filing system that addresses document filing, case management, records management and public access aspects of court work.

Adopting a standard format for e-filing so that attorneys, judges, court staff and others can learn to use one single system even if they work in different practice areas;